Personal tools

Sections

India, Iraq ink four agreements to strengthen bilateral ties

Aug 24, 2013 12:00 AM

India and Iraq have inked four agreements, including one on energy cooperation, and decided to go in for joint exploration for oil and setting up of petrochemical complexes as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his visiting Iraqi counterpart Nouri-al-Maliki held talks in New Delhi.

Iraq also sought India's help in reconstruction of its infrastructure devastated in the long years of war and Maliki assured Indian business leaders and companies of protection and guarantees if they work in his country. Though US troops withdrew from Iraq in December 2011, bomb blasts triggered by militants have been shattering the peace of the country that is struggling to get back on its feet.

Manmohan Singh said that Maliki's visit would impart a "new dynamism" to their bilateral ties. He said that both had agreed to take their energy trading relationship into a strategic partnership, including through joint ventures in oil exploration, petrochemical complexes and fertilizer plants.

Iraq is India's second largest supplier of crude at more than 12 percent of total imports, fast replacing sanctions-hit Iran. Besides energy cooperation, both sides inked an agreement on water resource management, with India to help in management of the Tigris and Euphrates and other rivers in Iraq that have suffered in the long years of war.

An MoU was signed between the respective Foreign Ministries on foreign office consultations and between the Foreign Service Institutes of India's External Affairs Ministry and the Iraqi counterpart for training of diplomats.

Manmohan Singh also offered to help in reconstruction efforts as well as in rebuilding and upgrading higher education and healthcare institutions.

Both sides have also identified other areas of cooperation, including agriculture, water resource management, pharmaceuticals, health care, information technology, infrastructure, low cost housing and trade.

The Iraqi Prime Minister said that his country has potential capacities and India can contribute to developing the economy. Maliki, a Shiite, said Iraq has missed out a lot in the long years of war and sought cooperation from Indian private and public sector companies in helping rebuild his country's infrastructure and economy. He assured Indian companies of protection and guarantees if they come to work in Iraq.

Maliki also pushed for the finalizing of agreements in the field of agriculture, higher education, housing, trade, security cooperation and transport as soon as possible. He also spoke of cooperation in parliamentary affairs and in the cultural fields and counter terrorism cooperation.

Iraq has gained a lot of experience through what it has suffered and knows the method to control extremism, he said.

He also said Iraq is working to make the tendering process for sourcing equipment less restrictive for Indian companies, as Indian goods are not allowed to participate in tenders floated by Iraqi companies.

The International Affairs Institute (IAI) and OCP Policy Center recently launched a new book: The Future of Natural Gas. Markets and Geopolitics.

The book is an in-depth analysis of some of the fastest moving gas markets, attempting to define the trends of a resource that will have a decisive role in shaping the global economy and modelling the geopolitical dynamics in the next decades.

Some of the top scholars in the energy sector have contributed to this volume such as Gonzalo Escribano, Director Energy and Climate Change Programme, Elcano Royal Institute, Madrid, Coby van der Linde, Director Clingendael International Energy Programme, The Hague and Houda Ben Jannet Allal, General Director Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie (OME), Paris.

For only €32.50 you have your own copy of The Future of Natural Gas. Markets and Geopolitics. Click here to order now!